Set-Top Boxes (STBs) may provide digital contents associated with a subscription television service received via a network, such as a cable network and/or an optical fiber network. For example, the STBs may receive multicast stations and/or video-on-demand (VOD) contents provided through the subscription television service. Digital contents received via the multicast stations may be edited, for example, to include commercials, fit within desired broadcast times, conform to broadcast regulations, reduce the bandwidth for transmitting the multicast channels, etc.
The STBs may perform various processing of the received digital content, such as to decode the digital contents, perform digital rights management and authentication control functions (e.g., decryption of the digital contents), etc. and provide the processed digital contents for presentation on display devices (e.g., televisions) connected to the STBs. A user may use an input device, such as a remote control device, to provide an input to the STB to switch channels, configure the STB (e.g., turning on closed captioning, modifying audio/vision output formats, etc.), and/or control other functions on the STB. For example, a user may submit an input related to controlling a digital video recorder (DVR) associated with the STB, accessing an electronic programming guide (EPG) identifying contents available via the channels, accessing a VOD catalog identifying contents available via VOD, and/or activating other functions (e.g., widgets) available via the STB.